Xiao Che’s sudden appearance made Song Xunzhen’s heart tighten.
Why was he here?
Was it a coincidence, or was he waiting for her on purpose?
Song Xunzhen quickly suppressed the panic in her heart, striving to maintain a calm expression as she frowned in displeasure.
“Is there something you need, Senior Brother Xiao? Where I go is my own business. I don’t believe I need to report my whereabouts to you, do I?”
Her tone was hardly polite, carrying a sense of distance.
Since she had established the persona of someone from a Hidden Clan, her attitude toward a fellow disciple who repeatedly targeted her and was only at the Golden Core stage couldn’t be too meek; otherwise, it would only arouse suspicion.
Xiao Che seemed not to have expected her to retort so directly. He froze for a moment, the probing look in his eyes intensifying.
He stared at Song Xunzhen, as if trying to find a crack in her subtle expression.
“I don’t mean to interfere with your movements.”
Xiao Che’s tone softened slightly, but it still carried a scrutinizing edge.
“The matter with the Enforcement Hall may be concluded, but it is a fact that Junior Sister Chu’s Magical Artifact was damaged.”
“Yesterday, Junior Sister Song promised to compensate her with a better Magical Artifact. I wonder, how do you plan to resolve this matter?”
He paused, then added with clear implication, “The Sect’s Grand Competition is imminent, and Junior Sister Chu urgently needs a Magical Artifact to prepare. If you have any difficulties, or need to communicate with your family, please do so as soon as possible.”
Song Xunzhen sneered inwardly. So that’s what he was waiting for.
On the surface, he was urging her to provide compensation, but in reality, he was testing whether her so-called family was real or fake, to see if she could produce a valuable item on the spot.
If she couldn’t, or if what she produced wasn’t good enough, it would likely invite even greater suspicion.
Fortunately, she had just earned a sum of money that could alleviate her current predicament.
Moreover, his words gave her more room to maneuver.
A look of perfectly timed realization and a hint of impatience appeared on Song Xunzhen’s face, as if she had just remembered this trivial matter.
“So, Senior Brother came for this. Since I have promised to provide compensation, I will naturally not go back on my word.”
She lifted her chin slightly, her tone tinged with the displeasure of being underestimated.
“It’s just a Magical Artifact. Why would I need to trouble my family’s elders? I have it under control. Tomorrow… or the day after at the latest, I will deliver the new Magical Artifact to Senior Sister Chu. I will certainly not delay her preparations for the Grand Competition.”
She deliberately gave a flexible timeline, showing both her confidence and that she didn’t need to produce it immediately, buying herself time to plan.
Hearing this, Xiao Che frowned slightly.
Song Xunzhen’s confident demeanor didn’t seem feigned at all. Could it be that she could really produce a better Magical Artifact so easily?
Thinking back on the Divine Transformation Stage expert from before, he felt something was strange, but seeing Song Xunzhen today, she truly acted as if she had powerful backing.
Could he have been mistaken?
He remained silent for a moment before saying, “If that’s the case, then all the better. I hope you will be true to your word, Junior Sister.”
His gaze fell on Song Xunzhen once more, deep and penetrating, as if trying to see right through her. But in the end, he just nodded. “Farewell.”
With that, he turned and left, his departing figure looking inexplicably grave.
Watching Xiao Che walk away, Song Xunzhen secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Dealing with these sharp-witted protagonists from the original novel, she couldn’t let her guard down for even a second.
Returning to her cramped dormitory and closing the door, Song Xunzhen immediately opened the system interface.
The system’s light screen unfolded before her. The single-pull button on the gacha interface was lit up, but Song Xunzhen’s gaze was firmly drawn to the ten-pull button.
“A ten-pull…”
Song Xunzhen couldn’t help but calculate in her head.
“A ten-pull only costs nine hundred Spirit Crystals. A single pull is one hundred, so ten single pulls would be a thousand. In comparison, it’s a full one hundred cheaper!”
With the hundred she saved, couldn’t she do another pull? Rounding up, it was practically a free pull!
Besides, based on her experience playing games in her past life, a ten-pull might have a pity system. At the very least, the probability of getting something good had to be higher than with single pulls, right?
This thought grew like a weed, making Song Xunzhen’s heart itch with anticipation.
She was just one hundred and forty-nine short. If she could just get another one hundred and forty-nine Spirit Crystals, she could perform her first-ever, truly significant ten-pull.
But where could she get one hundred and forty-nine Spirit Crystals in such a short time?
She had already stripped the Moonlight Moss bare. The Rabbit-tail Grass wasn’t worth much, and buyers only wanted high-quality specimens, which she would have to find slowly.
But she was running out of time.
Song Xunzhen sat on her bed with a troubled expression, her gaze sweeping unconsciously over the simple room.
Suddenly, her eyes fixed on the original owner’s worn-out Storage Pouch, which she had casually tossed onto the bed earlier.
Besides the Spirit Crystals and iron ore, it should still contain all of the original owner’s belongings.
She had only taken out the Spirit Crystals before and hadn’t bothered to look at the other items, because the original owner was so poor she thought there couldn’t possibly be anything valuable.
But now, with the desperation of a last-ditch effort, she picked up the Storage Pouch and dumped all its contents out with a clatter.
A few changes of ordinary clothes, a basic cultivation manual called “Qi Guiding Arts,” a few pieces of dry rations, a broken wood-chopping knife, a few dull-colored ore fragments, and a small, dusty animal-hide pouch.
In the original owner’s memory, this small pouch seemed to be an item left by her mother, who had disappeared years ago. The original owner had always carried it as a memento.
Song Xunzhen picked up the small pouch. It felt rough and was very inconspicuous.
She subconsciously tried to open it to see what was inside, but found the leather cord was tied exceptionally tight; she couldn’t untie it on the first try.
She frowned and used a bit more force, but still couldn’t undo it.
This, in turn, piqued her curiosity.
Did an ordinary leather pouch need to be tied so tightly?
She picked up the rusty wood-chopping knife and carefully used its tip to pick at the leather cord.
After fumbling with it for a while, the cord finally snapped with a soft pop.
Song Xunzhen eagerly opened the pouch and looked inside.
It seemed to be empty.
She was a little disappointed, but still reached inside to feel around.
Her fingertips touched something small and hard.
She pinched it and pulled it out.
It was a ring.
The material was neither gold nor jade, but a dark silver color, engraved with ancient patterns. It looked very simple and rustic, with no spiritual energy fluctuations whatsoever, like an ordinary piece of old jewelry.
“Sigh…”
Song Xunzhen was greatly disappointed. It seemed this wouldn’t help her gather the nine hundred Spirit Crystals either.
She idly slipped the ring onto her finger to check the size. The moment the ring settled on her right index finger, a strange phenomenon occurred.
The ring suddenly emitted a faint glow, and the ancient patterns on its surface seemed to come alive, flowing wildly.
Immediately after, Song Xunzhen felt a sharp pain in her fingertip, as if pricked by a needle. A drop of blood seeped out and was instantly absorbed by the ring.
A faint piece of information abruptly appeared in her mind.
[Storage Ring: Contains a miniature space, capable of storing living creatures.]
The message was short, but it made Song Xunzhen’s eyes fly open, her breathing suddenly becoming ragged.
A Spatial Artifact that could hold living things?!
Although it was a special Spatial Artifact that could only store miniature living creatures, it was a genuine special artifact nonetheless.
One must know that on this continent, Magical Artifacts like Storage Pouches could only hold inanimate objects. A Spatial Artifact that could store living things was simply unheard of, its value practically immeasurable.
This… who on earth was the original owner’s mother?
How could she have left something like this behind?
The sudden surprise left Song Xunzhen feeling dizzy.
She looked at the ring on her finger, which had once again become unremarkable, and her heart pounded wildly.
She’d struck it rich!
She’d really struck it rich this time!
Although this Storage Ring’s space wasn’t large and sounded a bit useless, it was, after all, a Spatial Artifact capable of holding living things.
This feature alone was enough to drive countless cultivators into a frenzy. After all, if one could use it to research a Magical Artifact capable of holding more life, its value would be inestimable.
If she sold it…
The moment this thought arose, Song Xunzhen forcibly suppressed it.
No! Absolutely not!
First of all, this ring was left to the original owner by her mother; she had no right to dispose of it.
Furthermore, the origin of this item was unknown, and it was so unique that if she took it out, the storm it would cause would be far greater than that of a Deity Transformation bodyguard. A hundred lives wouldn’t be enough for her to survive.
She understood the danger of possessing a treasure.
However, not being able to sell it didn’t mean it was useless.
A bold plan instantly formed in her mind.
She could use this Storage Ring to capture some rare spirit insects or cubs, put them inside the ring to isolate their aura, and avoid being tracked down and attacked by their parents or more powerful creatures.
Then she could sell what she caught to quickly earn Spirit Crystals.
For example, in the original owner’s memory, there was a type of spirit insect near the Sect called the Medicine-Seeking Bee, which was extremely sensitive to the scent of specific Spirit Grass. Some cultivators or Alchemists who specialized in growing Spirit Grass were willing to pay a high price for tamed Medicine-Seeking Bees.
A single healthy Medicine-Seeking Bee larva was said to sell for thirty to forty Spirit Crystals.
If she could catch a few…
Song Xunzhen’s eyes shone with astonishing brightness. Hope was right before her!
She put all the items she had dumped on the floor into her newly acquired Storage Ring, feeling incredibly pleased.
Now, the goal was clear: find a way to capture Medicine-Seeking Bee larvae, exchange them for Spirit Crystals, buy a Magical Artifact, and overcome the current crisis.